Mortar spreading machine

ABSTRACT

THIS INVENTION RELATES TO A MACHINE FOR THE SPREADING OF MORTAR ON MASONARY BUILDING MATERIAL SUCH AS CONCRETE BLOCKS, BRICK, STONE AND THE LIKE. SPECIFICALLY, THE MORTAR SPREADER MACHINE ENCOMPASSES ROLLERS ADAPTED TO BE ROLLED ON A FIRST ROW OF MASONARY MATERIAL. THE ROLLERS IN TURN ARE SECURED TO A HOPPER THAT INCLUDES A FORE AND AFT SPREADER AND MEANS FOR ADVANCING AND FEEDING THE MORTAR FROM THE HOPPER TO THE SPREADER. THE MACHINE IN OPERATION IS PUSHED (ROLLED) ALONG THE ROW OF MASONRY MATERIAL WITH ONE HAND AND THE MORTAR FED TO THE BLOCK BY THE ACTION OF THE OTHER HAND. AS THE MACHINE IS PUSHED, THE MORTAR IS EVENLY AND UNIFORMLY SPREAD ON THE MASONRY MATERIAL.

March-2, 1971 Q BUKEY 3,566,491

. MORTAR SPREADING MACHINE Filed June 21. 1968. v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ALBERT M. BU KEY BY%4Q@M ATTORNEY March 2, 1971 '1 A. M. BUKEY 3,566,491

MORTAR SPREADING MACHINE Filed June 21, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

ALBERT M. BUKEY ATTORNEY 3,566,491 MORTAR SPREADING MACHINE Albert M. Bukey, Rte. 1, Alexandria, Ohio 43001 Filed June 21, 1368, Ser. No. 740,825

Int. Cl. B2811 19/00 US. Cl. 25-118 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a machine for the spreading of mortar on masonary building material such as concrete blocks, brick, stone and the like. Specifically, the mortar spreader machine encompasses rollers adapted to be rolled on a first row of masonry material. The rollers in turn are secured to a hopper that includes a fore and aft spreader and means for advancing and feeding the mortar from the hopper to the spreader. The machine in operation is pushed (rolled) along the row of masonry material with one hand and the mortar fed to the block by the action of the other hand. As the machine is pushed, the mortar is evenly and uniformly spread on the masonry material.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART Masonry construction of buildings of one form or another literally dates back hundreds of years. Unfortunately, however, the tools used and techniques employed have changed very little over hundreds of years. Very simply, the tools still comprise a mortar board and trowel. The technique is to hand-lay each block, stone, brick, etc., and then to hand-spread mortar thereon for the next row of block, stone, bn'ck, etc. In practice-even in a small simple job-this process is a two-man job. One man, generally a helper or apprentice, supplies the blocks and keeps the mortar boards filled and the other man lays the block.

Further, the actual laying of the masonry material is dependent upon the skill of the mason or layer. Training is necessary, agility and physical stamina are also requiredbut again, the techniques do not vary. The ability to spread the mortar evenly and sufliciently to bond the masonry material together-and yet not to excessively use and waste materialrequires considerable skill and experience. Also, there is a limit to human endurance, simply, one man can lay so many masonry blocks, and that is all.

The only tools noted that tend to show any ingenuity over the archaic methods are trowels shaped to lay a given amount of mortar uniformly over the prior layer. Unfortunately, these trowels requires as much skill as the unshaped trowels and, practically speaking, are limited in their use and no real advance in the art.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION;

The present invention is an advance in the state of masonry block laying art by providing a machine that simply, easily, and quickly places a uniform layer of mortar fore and aft on a row of masonry material. The machine basically comprises a hopper for the mortar having on the back side a pair of wheels to permit the hopper to roll at a uniform height on the prior row of masonry block. On the underside of the hopper is a pair of rigid trowels shaped to the desired amount of mortar to be placed fore and aft on the prior row of masonry block. Internal of the hopper is a pair of mortar feeding and advancing means to uniformly and evenly feed mortar to the pair of trowels.

OBJECTS -It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to provide a simple machine for the placing of mortar in the laying of masonry material.

United States Patent It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simple machine for the placing of mortar in the laying of masonry material that eliminates the ordinary hand tools, but yet is more simple to use, quicker in operation, and extremely more accurate and uniform in the laying of mortar.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine for the placing of mortar in the laying of masonry material that is extremely simple in operation and does not require training for its use by an operator.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine for the placing of mortar in the laying of masonry material that is extremely rugged in construction, durable, near maintenance free, and of low construction cost.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in consideration with the drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an overall view in perspectivepartly cut awayshowing a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a pictorial illustration in perspective of the preferred embodiment of the invention in operation; and,

FIG. 3 is a side view of the illustration of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring now generally to FIG. 1 the invention comprises a hopper 10, a dual set of rollers 12 and 14, a pair of shaped trowels 32 and 34, a pair of feeding mechanisms 26 and 28, actuated by rotating means 30, and a handle 24.

Specifically, the hopper 10 is an overall upright structure and is completely enclosed on the sides and 'bottom except for the two mortar outlets. The hopper 10, has in this embodiment a configuration that is conventional, that is, the back portion 10a is slanted inwardly. In this way gravity feed assists in the feeding arrangement as explained below.

On the back and underside of the hopper are the position moving means. In the preferred arrangement a pair of rollers 12 and 14 (and 12a and 14a [not shown]) are secured to a side plate 54 by a pair of locked nuts 16 and 18. The side plate 54 serves to reinforce the hopper in the area of the rollers. Also, since, as pointed out above, the back side 10a is slanted in, there is provided an area on the back and lower side for adaptation of the plate 54 and the rollers 12 and 14 to thereby permit free movement of the rollers all within the confines of the overall structure.

On the bottom and front side of the hopper 10 is a pair of trowels 32 and 34. The underside of either trowel 32 and 34 is of a configuration that conforms to the size and amount of mortar necessary for the front and rear of the row of masonry material. The mortar is fed to the trowels 32 and 34 by inlets extending from the lowermost areas 48 and 49 of the hopper 10.

Also in the bottom plate 10b of the hopper 10 is a generally inverted U-shaped structure 44 centrally positioned from the front to the rear. This structure, together with the Walls 10c and 10e, thereby forms the feeding areas 48 and 49 having their openings into the trowels 32 and 34.

Near an upper region of the wall and 10d there is positioned a cross-member 30. The arm 21 between extensions 22 and 32 extends through an aperture in the wall 100. Positioned between the walls 10c and 102 is an elongated plate 46 extending from the wall 10d wherein its one end is permanently secured. The plate 46 is in an upper region of the hopper and left of center. Near its other extremity towards opposite wall 10e the arm 31 of the cross-member 30 extends through an aperture in the plate 46. In this way the lateral cross-member 30 is supported for rotation in the upper region of the hopper 10. It is understood, of course, that it may be desirable to utilize bearings in the apertures in the wall 100 and the plate 46.

The cross-member 30 comprises a first, second, and third right angles. The first right angle comprising arms 30 and 45 and second right angles comprising arm 30 and 47, are opposed to each other whereas the second right angle and the third right angle comprising arms 49 and 21 extend in the same direction to form loop 32. By having the first and second right angles opposed, the crossmember 30 has two extremities 180 out of phase. At the tip of the first extremity there extends therefrom arm 41 adapted to receive eyelet 40. At the second extremity-tip of the second right angle member and with the tip of the third right angle memberthere is formed loop 32 also adapted to receive an eyelet 42. By supporting the first and second right angle members at the joining positions and supporting the third right angle member at a similar position the crossmember 30 is operable to rotate on its longitudinal axis causing loop 32 and arm 41 to form a circular rotation pattern 180 out of phase. In this way eyelets 40 and 42 are diametrically opposed.

Extending downwardly into the hopper from eyelets 40 and 42 are levers 50 and 52, respectively. Extending through slots 62 and 64 (cut away) are choppers 26 and 28. These choppers have an aperture formed therein in a position on the outside wall 10a. Extending through these apertures is a rod secured to the plate 50 in a manner to permit the choppers 26 and 28 to pivot along their longitudinal axis. At the opposite end of choppers 26 and 28 there are second apertures adapted to pivotally receive the loops 51 and 53 of the levers 50 and 52.

In operation then, by rotating the cross-member 30by means of the handle 24the levers and 52 will go in a generally up-and-down direction but in opposite directions to each other. In that the choppers 26 and 28 are secured to the levers 50 and 52 they will pivot on the rod 20 with the movement of the levers 50 and 52 to chop in an up-and-down manner, In this way the mortar in the lowermost regions 48 and 49 of the hopper 10 is continually mixed to maintain its uniform consistency and also-and most significantlyto feed the trowels 32 and 34. To assist in the mixing operation of the mortar in the hopper 10, rods 32 and 38 are laterally secured to a midsection portion of the levers 50 and 52.

Finally, there is secured to the wall 10d of hopper 10 in a generally central area a handle or gripping means 34. Also the handle 24 comprises sleeve 24a to permit a secured grip on the handle 24 with free rotation therein.

In operation of the mortar spreader machine of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the machine is placed on a row of masonry blocks MB with the rollers 12a and 14a positioned to roll along the row of blocks. The hopper 10 is just slightly tilted by gripping the means 34 and simultaneously pushing along the row of blocks. Also simultaneously with the right hand the lateral crossmember 30 (of FIG. 1) is rotated by cranking the crank (handle 24 and extension 22). By this rotation, choppers 26 and 28 through the linkage of levers 50 and 52, etc. are mixing the mortar and forcing it downwardly into the areas 48 and 49 and therefrom into the trowels 32 and 34. In a conventional manner these two trowels smoothly and evenly disperse the mortar into the fore and aft mounds MR-A and MR-F, as shown in FIG. 1.

The mortar spreader of the present invention simply and quickly places the uniform mound of mortar along the fore and aft edges of the row of masonry material. Through the simplicity of operation, training is not required and the spreader can be operated by the helper thereby eliminating a substantial function of the layer and consequently increasing the number of masonry blocks that can be layed in one day. Further, the work load is lessened considerably and it is not necessary to physically move the mortar from the board to the block which, in turn, eliminates back bending. It has also been found in practice that the choppers do, in fact, disperse a more evenly mixed mortar of a uniform consistency. This, in turn, causes a delay in the mortar setting up and the problem of the mortar setting up on the board is therefore eliminated. Finally, because of the measured operation, it has been found that there is less waste; for instance, the laying of four rows of concrete blocks that there would be less waste than in the laying of one row of concrete block with a hand trowel.

Although the preferred embodiment of the mortar spreader is relatively light, the particular configuration is ruggedly constructed, durable, and substantially maintenance free.

What I claim is:

1. A machine for the spreading of mortar on a row of layed masonry material comprising an upright hopper having a substantially rectangular configuration, a pair of rollers fixedly positioned adjacent one end of the lowermost region of said hopper, a pair of trowels having a generally inverted V shape also positioned on the underside of said hopper and on the opposite end to said rollers,

said hopper having a first and second opening in the lowermost region thereof for feeding mortar from said hopper to said trowels, a mixing means positioned in a lower interior of region of said hopper, and actuating means attached to said mixing means for moving said mixing means to thereby cause said mortar to be uniformly mixed and fed through said openings to said trowel as said spreader is rolled along said row of masonry material.

2. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mixing means further comprises means positioned adjacent said first and second openings.

3. A machine as set forth in claim 2 wherein said mixing means are elongated plates, and means pivotally securing one end of said plates to said hopper and pivotally securing said other end to said actuating means.

4. A machine as set forth in claim 3 wherein said lowermost region of said hopper further comprises separation means positioned in said lowermost region to define discreet areas adjacent said openings, and wherein said elongated plate mixing means are pivotally movable within said discreet areas.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said manually operable actuating means further comprises a crossmember rotatably secured to an upper interior region of said hopper, a pair of rod-like members pivotally secured to said cross-member, and means for joining said other end of said rod-like members to said elongated plates.

6. A machine as set forth in cIaim 5 wherein said crossmember includes several right angle binds to thereby cause said rod-like members to have rotational movement out of phase with each other.

7. A machine as set forth in claim 6 wherein said crossmember further comprises a ,pair. of right angle binds at an exterior region of said hopper to thereby manually impart said rotational moveemnt to said cross-member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,780,902 11/1930 Ainslie 251 18 2,583,767 1/1952 Daignas 25104.5X 139,195 5/1873 Savage et a1. 222245 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner D. W. I ONES, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

